Yarn carrier stop mechanism for cottontype knitting machines



March 1966 E. J. BOUTILLETTE YARN CARRIER STOP MECHANISM FOR COTTON-TYPE KNITTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed June 5, 1963 1 1 fl g Q33 h n 1 53% m f M, 1 3 3 a A f y W b 7 l\ l\ I WM @@@@6 w o m w m 1i ill? .1. 1 M vm/wxfllwlw w w March 1966 E. J. BOUTILLETTE 3,241,333

YARN CARRIER STOP MECHANISM FOR COTTON-TYPE KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 2 a 14% u, w A? United States Patent 3,241,338 YARN CARRIER STOP MECHANISM FOR COTTON- TYIE KNITTING MACHINES Edward J. Boutillette, Oxford, Mass., assignor to M.K.M.

Knitting Mills, Inc., Manchester, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Filed .Inne 5, 1963, Ser. No. 285,630 Claims. (Cl. 66-130) The present invention relates to yarn carrier stops for flat knitting machines, particularly multiple section cotton-type flat machines having coulier driven yarn carrier rods and fashioning means including adjustable stops for limiting the traverse of said rods.

In machines of the class referred to including multiple section coarse-gauge machines for the knitting of swim suits, sweaters and similar garments, the yarn is fed to the needles and advancing sinkers by means of yarn carriers which are mounted usually one for each knitting section, on carrier rods which extend along the entire length of the machine. The carrier rods are in turn driven through friction boxes mounted on a driven bar which is reciprocated between fixed limit positions at a constant rate by the usual coulier drive, not here shown. Separate carrier stops limit the traverse of each said carrier rod in each direction, while the driver, driving through the friction, continues on to the end of its traverse. Pattern changes affecting the width and design of the knitted fabric are produced by endwise adjustment of said stops causing the length of traverse of individual yarn carrier rods to be varied over wide limits.

Especially in high-speed machines the impact of the heavy carrier rods against the stops has been found objectionable causing excessive shock and wear in the machine and a tendency to rebound which results in the making of imperfect selvages and in injury to the improperly placed carriers, needles and sinkers.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a novel and improved carrier stop having a shock absorbing capacity which will cause the individual carrier rod to be stopped accurately and without rebound from highspeed operation and at any point in the traversing stroke of the carrier indicated for the knitting of any desired fabric pattern.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved yarn carrier rod stop for flat knitting machines which comprises a movable stop element supported by a hydraulically operated shock absorbing device which is capable of being mounted in the narrow channel allotted to each yarn carrier rod assembly and which at the same time is capable of providing the very strong resistance required to decelerate a friction carrier rod traveling at a maximum speed to an exactly predetermined stop position smoothly and without shock or jar.

With the above stated and other objects in view as may hereinafter appear, the several features of the invention will be readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view in elevation taken on a line 11 of FIG. 2 illustrating one of the yarn carrier stop and hydraulic shock absorber units;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the entire carrier stop and shock absorber assembly taken substantially on a line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a somewhat fragmentary view in front elevation illustrating a carrier rod spindle and the yarn carrier stop and shock absorber assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 supported in relation thereto;

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the distance versus the rate of travel of the carrier rod when it engages with the carrier stop;

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FIG. 5 is a sectional view in side elevation taken on a line 55 of FIG. 7 illustrating a second modification of the invention in a single unit assembly;

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the unit assembly shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional View taken on a line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

The invention is herein disclosed in a preferred form as embodied in a flat cotton-type knitting machine. The machine is assumed to be a coarse-gauge multiple section machine adapted for the knitting of fashioned gar ments which may, for example, include swim suits, sweaters and the like. Yarn is fed to the spring beard needles and sinkers by means of yarn carriers supported at each section from one or another of a group of five yarn carrier rods generally designated at 10 in FIG. 3. The yarn carrier rods 10 as a group are arranged at an angle transversely of the machine, and are supported for endwise reciprocation in guides 12 suitably connected to the machine frame 14. Each rod 10 is fitted with a plurality of yarn laying carriers or fingers, one for each knitting section one such yarn carrier being illustrated at 16 in FIG. 3. In accordance with the usual practice in such machines, each of the several carrier rods is driven from a driver bar generally referred to at 18 in FIG. 3 which is given a traversing movement of a fixed extent from the coulier driving mechanism of the machine, not here shown. The carrier rods 10 are selectively connected to be driven from the driver 18 by means of friction boxes such as that indicated at 20 in FIG. 3 spaced from one another along the length of the driving bar 18 to be frictionally engaged therewith and having connection with a selected one of the carrier rods 10. It will be understood that each active carrier rod or rods is reciprocated by the reciprocating driver bar 18 between stops which arrest movement of the carrier rod in each direction while the driver 18 continues to the end of its travel pulling through the friction.

In FIG. 3 there is shown a longitudinally adjustable yarn carrier stop assembly of a general type normally employed in fiat cotton-type knitting machines which in the instance shown consists of a single thread carrier rod spindle 24 rotatably supported on fixed bearing brackets 26, 28 on the machine frame. A nut 30' on the spindle 24 has mounted thereon spaced angularly projecting bracket arms 32 between the ends of which extends an axis pin 34 which provides support for five end stop units 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44.

The hydraulically operated shock absorbing carrier rod stop units shown generally in FIG. 3, and in more detail in FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrate one embodiment of the invention in which the units are separated one from an other and are individually adjustable into and out of operating position. Inasmuch as these units are identical in every respect, only one said unit, for example, the unit 36, is shown in detail in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The unit 36 comprises a roughly rectangular steel block approximately 4" thick, 3 /2" long, and 3 /2" high, which is pivotally supported on the pivot pin 34.. Adjacent its lower edge, the block 36 is formed with a bore 50 adapted to receive a plunger 52 having adjustably threaded into the outer end thereof a machine screw 54 providing an adjustable stop element for engagement against the end of the advancing carrier stop rod and plunger. Movement of the plunger 52 in an inward direction is: limited by engagement of an enlarged head 56 of the plunger with'the adjacent face of the block 36. The plunger is normally held in a fully extended position by means of a lightweight tension spring 60 connected between the outer end of a post 64- screw threaded into the face of the block 36, and an upwardly extending member 66 attached to the plunger 52. A bore 70 extending downwardly in a diagonal direction from the upper right-hand corner of the block intersects the bore 50 adjacent the rear end. The diagonal bore 70 is enlarged toward its upper end to provide a seat for an adjustable needle valve member 72 carried on a stem 74 screw threaded into a plug 76 mounted in the enlarged end of the bore 70. A knurled head 78 on the outer end of the pin 74 provides a convenient means for adjustment of the needle valve. A vertical bore 80 extending downwardly from the top surface of the block 36 intersects a portion of the diagonal bore 70 at a point which is below and bypasses the needle valve 72. The upper portion of the bore 80 is enlarged to receive a relief valve unit in the form of a sleeve member 82 having mounted in the lower end thereof a ball 84 which rests against a seat 85 formed in the lower end of the unit. A diagonal passageway 86 connects the enlarged portion of the bore 70 above the needle valve with the upper portion of the relief valve unit 82. An oil reservoir 88 in the form of a flexible tube of transparent material such as Lucite is attached to the upper end of the relief valve unit 82, the upper end of the tube 88 being closed by an air valve 90 adapted to permit the passage of air freely therethrough, but containing the oil within the reservoir.

The operation of the hydraulically operated shock absorbing device illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 will be briefly described as follows:

The plunger 52 is normally held in its fully extended position as shown in FIG. 1 by the spring 60. The active carrier rod traversing to the left strikes the carrier stop 54 causing the plunger 52 to be driven to the left so that oil is forced upwardly past the needle valve 72 through the conduit 86 into the oil reservoir 88. The needle valve is adjusted so that a rapid deceleration of the carrier rod 10 takes place during the movement of the plunger to its limiting position to the left in which the enlarged head thereof 56 engages against the adjacent face of the block 36. The deceleration referred to is shown in graph form in FIG. 4 of which the x axis represents the distance moved by the plunger in quarter inches and the y axis represents rate of travel of the carrier rod 10. The line of the y axis represents the actual stop position of the plunger 52 indicating that the advance of the carrier rod 10 shown in dot-and-dash lines is abruptly terminated slightly before the deceleration indicated by line 96 reaches zero value. The final rest position of the carrier rod 10 is determined by the engagement of the head of the plunger 52 with the block 36. Any adjustment of this stop position which may be required is readily effected by adjustment of the stop screw 54. The plunger 52 will remain in its fully retracted stop position to the left until the carrier rod 10 starts its traverse in the opposite or right-hand direction. At this point the return spring 60 becomes effective to return the plunger to the initial position shown in FIG. 1, while at the same time oil from the reservoir 88 is permitted to flow downwardly through the relief valve 84 and diagonal conduit 70 into the inner end of the plunger supporting bore 50. It will be understood that a light weight spring 60 is employed which is too weak to have any appreciable affect of slowing down or checking the movement of the carrier rod, and therefore does not tend to cause rebound.

The hydraulically operated shock absorbing device operates with a high degree of accuracy and certainty to arrest the advance of the carrier rod without shock or jar and without any tendency to rebound which has been found to exist in devices known in the prior art. The construction shown has the specific advantage that it is extremely compact and is well-adapted to fit into the narrow panel available for the said shock absorbing device on the machine. The stop unit can be moved upwardly in a counterclockwise direction about a pivot pin 34 to an inoperative position when so desired, the block 36 being held in either of two operative and inoperative positions by means of a set screw S 8 threaded into the block 36 for engagement with the pivot pin 34.

Applicants improved carrier driving and stopping mechanism provided with a separate hydraulic shock absorbing unit associated with each individual carrier stop has the advantage of providing a high efficient, dependable means for arresting any one of the several carrier rods from high-speed operation at the exact spot required for any position of adjustment of the stop in accordance with fashioning requirements. The arrangement is such that the condition surrounding the operation of the shock absorbing devices is in no way affected by positional adjustments of the stop in a machine in which all of the carriers for both long and short traverse operations are driven at the same high speed. The complete absence of any tendency to rebound is of particular value in such fashioning operations to insure the stopping of the carrier precisely over the correct sinker for the correct formation of both inside and outside selvages.

FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings illustrate an alternate embodiment of the invention in which the five car-rier stops are mounted in a single unit assembly which takes the place of the five units 36 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The unit assembly 100 comprises two adjacent steel blocks 102, 10 4 which are held firmly together as, for example, by machine screws 1%. The block 100 has formed therein five stop plunger receiving bores 108 spaced from one another so that they will be in alignment with the respective carrier rods 10. At the inner end of each bore 108, there is formed in the rear face of the block 102 an upwardly extending recess 110 which forms a part of a by pass connection between the individual stop plunger receiving bore 108 and the oil reservoir 112 of the unit hereinafter to be described. The second or rear block 1114 of the stop assembly unit 101 has formed therein a series of five bores 114 which form rearward extensions of the plunger receiving bores 108 of the front block 102. Each rearwardly extending bore 114 is provided with enlarged rear end portions formed with a taper 116 to provide a seat for a needle valve 117. A vertical extension 118 of each said bore 114 connects with a transverse manifold bore 120, said manifold being in turn connected by a single upward extension 122 with the reservoir 112. There is also provided in the rear block 104 a group of five rearwardly extending bores 124 which are connected at their forward ends with recesses 110 and at their rear ends with the vertically arranged extensions 118. The forward end of each bore 124 is enlarged and the end thereof tapered to provide a seat for a ball-type relief valve 126.

Stop plungers having screw threaded thereto stop screws 132 with a rounded contact surface 134 are slidably mounted in the respective bores 108. Each stop plunger 130 is normally held in a fully extended position engaged against the end face of a sleeve member 136 fitted into the outer end of the bore 108 by means of a compression spring 140 seated at one end against a plunger 13b and at its other end against the end face of the bore provided by the adjacent wall of the block 104. The needle valve 117 comprises a tapered valve member having a stem 146 threaded through a sleeve nut 148 which is in turn fitted into the outer end of the bore 114.

The operation of the carrier stop assembly unit is similar to that of the individual carrier stop units 36 to 44 inclusive above described. The stop plunger 130' and stop screw 132 are normally maintained in their fully extended position by the return spring 140. Upon engagement of the moving carrier rod 10 therewith, the plunger 130 and stop screw 132 are moved to the right at a rate determined by the setting of the needle valve 117. Oil passes through the needle valve 117 upwardly through the connecting passage 118 to the manifold 120 and thence moves upwardly through passageway 122 into the reservoir 112. When the carrier 11) is subsequently traversed in an opposite direction the stop plunger 130 and stop pin 132 are permitted to return to their normally extended position under the influence of the return spring 140. This movement of the stop plunger 130 causes oil to be drawn from the reservoir passing through the manifold 120 past the transverse passage 124 and through the relief valve 126 to the rear end of the stop plunger supporting bore 140.

The invention having been described what is claimed is:

1. A hydraulically operated shock absorbing yarn carrier rod stop assembly for flat full fashioned multiple sectioned knitting machines having coulier driven carrier rods arranged for reciprocatory movement in adjacent channels having, in combination with housing means, a plurality of individual hydraulically operated shock absorbing carrier rod stop units housed within said housing means, each said carrier rod stop unit being confined within the channel for a said rod comprising a stop plunger, a stop plunger receiving bore in which the plunger is alined with the carrier rod in the said channel for movement between a predetermined advanced carrier rod contact position and a retracted carrier rod stop position, a hydraulic fluid discharge conduit from the base of said bore including a restriction for effecting the deceleration of the carrier stop and plunger from high speed traverse to a nearly zero rate, and a by-pass hydraulic fluid inlet conduit including a one-way valve to the base of said bore, and a yieldably acting device to return said plunger to said advance carrier rod contact position, said bore, said conduits, and said yieldable return device being alined with one another within said channel.

2. In a flat cotton-type multiple section knitting machine having coulier driven carrier rods arranged for reciprocatory movement in adjacent channels, and fashioning means including adjustable stops for limiting the traverse of said rods, the combination of a hydraulically operated shock absorbing carrier rod stop unit comprising a substantially rectangular carrier stop housing having a width corresponding with the width of said channel, said housing having a stop plunger receiving bore extending from the leading edge rearwardly in a lower portion of said block, a stop plunger slidable in said bore between an advanced carrier rod contact position and a retracted carrier rod stop position, said housing having an outlet passage connected with said bore and a bypass inlet passage connected with said bore, means in said outlet passage providing an adjustable restriction for effecting the deceleration of said carrier stop from high speed traverse at a predetermined constant rate while moving from said advanced to said retracted position, an oil reservoir connected with said outlet passage and with said bypass passageway, and a check valve in said bypass passage permitting movement of liquid from the reservoir to said bore.

3. In a flat cotton-type multiple section knitting machine having coulier driven carrier rods arranged for reciprocatory movement in adjacent channels and fashioning means including adjustable stops for limiting the traverse of said rods, the combination of a hydraulically operated shock absorbing carrier rod stop unit comprising a substantially rectangular carrier stop housing having a width corresponding with the width of said channel, said housing having a stop plunger receiving bore extending from the leading edge rearwardly in a lower portion of said block, an outlet passageway extending diagonally downwardly from the upper leading corner of said housing connecting with a rear portion of said bore, a bypass passageway extending downwardly from the upper edge of said housing and connecting with said out-let passageway, and a passageway connecting said bypass passageway with said outlet passageway, a reservoir connected with said bypass passageway at the upper edge of said housing, a stop plunger slidable in said bore between an advance carrier rod contact position and a retracting carrier rod stop position, means in said outlet passageway providing an adjustable restriction for eifecting the deceleration of said carrier stop, and a check valve in said bypass passageway permitting movement of liquid in the direction from the reservoir to said bore only.

4. In a flat cotton-type multiple section knitting machine having coulier driven carrier rods arranged for reciprocatory movement in adjacent channels and fashioning means including adjustable stops for limiting the traverse of said rods, the combination of a plurality of carrier stop housings having the shape of narrow blocks supported in parallel relation in said respective channels, each said housing having a stop plunger receiving bore extending from the leading edge rearwardly in a lower portion of said block, an outlet passageway extending between the upper edge of said housing and said bore including a hydraulic resistance in said passageway, an inlet passageway extending from the upper edge of said housing to said bore, a bypass passageway extending from the upper edge of said housing to said bore, a reservoir mounted on the upper edge of said housing connecting with said outlet and bypass passageway, a needle valve in said outlet passageway regulating the flow of said liquid ttherethrough, and a check valve in said bypass passageway permitting movement of liquids only in the di rection from the reservoir to said bore.

5. In a flat cotton-type multiple section knitting machine having coulier driven carrier rods arranged for reciprocatory movement in adjacent channels and carrier stops for limiting the traverse of said rods, the combination of a single substantially rectangular carrier stop housing extending across the width of said channels, said housing having a stop receiving bore aligned with each channel, a manifold extend-ing transversely within said housing, a separate outlet passageway connected between each said bore and said manifold, a bypass passageway connected between each said bore and said manifold, a needle valve providing an adjustable restriction in each said outlet passageway, a check valve in each said bypass passageway permitting flow only in a direction from the manifold to the respective bore, a stop plunger mounted in each said bore for movement between an advanced carrier rod contact position and a retracted carrier rod stop position, and individual return springs connected with each said plunger for returning any retracted plunger to said advanced position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,240,985 5/1941 Doyle 66130 2,260,162 10/1941 Baun 66130 2,354,340 7/1944 Utter 139161 FOREIGN PATENTS 584,042 1/1947 Great Britain. 673,119 6/1952 Great Britain.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner. 

1. A HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED SHOCK ABSORBING YARN CARRIER ROD STOP ASSEMBLY FOR FLAT FULL FASHIONED MULTIPLE SECTIONED KNITTING MACHINES HAVING COULIER DRIVERN CARRIER RODS ARRANGED FOR RECIPROCATORY MOVEMENT IN ADJACENT CHANNELS HAVING, IN COMBINATION WITH HOUSING MEANS, A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED SHOCK ABSORBING CARRIER ROD STOP UNITS HOUSED WITHIN SAID HOUSING MEANS, EACH SAID CARRIER ROD STOP UNIT BEING CONFINED WITHIN THE CHANNEL FOR A SAID ROD COMPRISING A STOP PLUNGER, A STOP PLUNGER RECEIVING BORE IN WHICH THE PLUNGER IS ALINED WITH THE CARRIER ROD IN THE SAID CHANNEL FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A PREDETERMINED ADVANCED CARRIER ROD CONTACT POSITION AND A RETRACTED CARRIER ROD STOP POSITION, A HYDRAULIC FLUID DISCHARGE CONDUIT FROM THE BASE OF SAID BORE INCLUDING A RESTRICTION FOR EFFECTING THE DECELERATION OF THE CARRIER STOP AND PLUNGER FROM HIGH SPEED TRAVERSE TO A NEARLY ZERO RATE, AND A BY-PASS HYDRAULIC FLUID INLET CONDUIT INCLUDING A ONE-WAY VALVE TO THE BASE OF SAID BASE, AND A YIELDABLY ACTING DEVICE TO RETURN SAID PLUNGER TO SAID ADVANCE CARRIER ROD CONTACT POSITION, SAID BORE, SAID CONDUITS, AND SAID YIELDABLE RETURN DEVICE BEING ALINED WITH ONE ANOTHER WITHIN SAID CHANNEL. 